School News

End of Term Arrangements - Wednesday 19th December 2018

Weekly Bulletin 14/12/18

14/12/18

Weekly Bulletin In addition to regular website updates, termly newsletter and frequent Twitter news, as from the beginning of this term we will produce a weekly School Bulletin to keep everyone updated on the events of the forthcoming week, reminders, school news and dates for the diary. The School Bulletin will be sent to parents via School Comms. The Bulletin will be published every Friday and, in addition to the School Comms message, it will also be uploaded on the school website.

Weekly Bulletin 14/12/18

14/12/18

Weekly Bulletin In addition to regular website updates, termly newsletter and frequent Twitter news, as from the beginning of this term we will produce a weekly School Bulletin to keep everyone updated on the events of the forthcoming week, reminders, school news and dates for the diary. The School Bulletin will be sent to parents via School Comms. The Bulletin will be published every Friday and, in addition to the School Comms message, it will also be uploaded on the school website.

Severe Weather Guidance for Parents

20/11/18

The winter season is upon us and so we would like to remind you of the procedures that will be followed in the event of adverse weather conditions. It is highly unlikely that we would close the school but as always, our top priority is the safety of our students.

Parents/Carers will be notified of a school closure through various channels. These include:

The North School Choir

05/11/18

On Thursdays after school (3-4pm) Mr Jones, Music teacher, is running a school choir and he would love to see more students coming along from all year groups and getting involved.

The intention for this term is to sing lots of Christmas classics with the choir being ready for our Christmas Concert which will take place on Tuesday 18th December – look out for more details in the coming weeks.

If your daughter/son is interested, please encourage them to come along to MG3.

Year 11 Mock Exams

11/10/18

The Year 11 Mock Exams will begin on Monday 5th November until Friday 15th November. In preparation for this we are holding some sessions during the October Half term and on Saturday school, in addition to the regular OSL sessions. Students will receive their own copy of this information and parents will be informed by post.

Halloween Canteen Menu 31/10/2018

Prize Giving Evening 2018

Our prize-winning students, parents and staff were treated to an inspirational speech by Chairman of the British Olympic Association the Rt Hon Sir Hugh Robertson last week.

Sir Hugh, a former soldier and cabinet minister as well as the man who headed up the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, considered by many to be the best of the modern era, was guest speaker at our annual prize giving on Thursday (27 Sept).

He told the students that they had the ability “to make dreams come true” by continuing the hard work and commitment they had shown during the past year.

Sir Hugh, who is also Chairman of Camelot, the company that operates the National Lottery, drew on his vast experience as the country’s Olympics supremo to highlight the qualities needed to succeed.

He told the audience of staff, students and parents about an exchange between skeleton gold medal winner Lizzie Yarnold and a journalist that took place when the team returned from Pyeongchang earlier this year.

“The journalist asked Lizzie, the first person ever to have won gold in skeleton in two successive Winter Olympic Games, if she thought the cost was worth it for a sport that only 120 people took part in across the country,” he told the audience.

“Lizzie got the gold medal out of her pocket, hung it round her neck and told him: ‘It wasn’t about the skeleton, it was about the 10 years of hard work I put in to achieve my dream’.”

He told the audience that Lizzie planned to take her medal to 300 to 400 schools across the country “with a message that if you have a dream and apply yourself to that dream, there is no limit to what you can achieve”.

Sir Hugh, who presented certificates to all our prize winners, told them: “You are all here this evening because you have excelled in a particular area. You are either good at it or it is something you really want to do. And if it isn’t what you really want to do, then keep looking for that something, pursue it and make dreams possible.”

The former MP for Faversham and Mid Kent, who saw active service in Northern Ireland, the first Gulf war and Sarajevo, also praised “the team behind the team” – the staff, Head of School, governors, parents and relatives who had “stood behind” the prize winners.

Students played a large part in the evening, which was introduced by Head Girl Ranjana Suresh and compered confidently by our four student principals and vice principals, Cameron Hutchins, Alicia Drury, Lilly Ward, and Callum Budden.

At the end of the evening Head of School Anna Lawrence also congratulated the students and said they had demonstrated the importance of hard work and commitment.

Phones Offline - 21/09/2018 10:00-10:30

21/09/18

Please be aware due to ongoing issues with external lines, our phones will be offline between 10:00 and 10:30 this morning (Friday 21st September). We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, please email [email protected] if you would like to contact us during this time.

Exam Results - Summer 2018

Our students beat all expectations with an impressive set of examination results this summer.

A week after our A level candidates recorded a 97% pass rate at A* to E across all qualifications, our GCSE students followed suit with a great batch of results.

Many of our GCSE students beat their individual targets, while great A level results saw a record number of our students being offered a university place, with most of them accepted by their first choice.

Alongside impressive results at A level, the sixth formers also performed well in vocational subjects, maintaining the school’s average grade of Distinction.

Students achieved particularly good results in sociology, maths, sport, finance and business, while 100% of pupils who undertook the extended project qualification (EPQ) achieved grades from A* to B.

Many GCSE students, meanwhile, reaped the rewards for their hard work – and the efforts of staff and the support of their parents – by achieving better-than-forecast results, despite new specifications affecting many courses.

Results in many areas showed an improvement on last year, with high-ability students in particular making great progress, while the results for science, mathematics and computing were particularly impressive.

There was an increase in the number of high grades, with pupils achieving many 9s, 8s and 7s. Overall, 52% of students achieved 4+ in English, 62% reached 4+ in maths and 50% did so in science.

The school has again benefited from the support of the Swale Academies Trust and the collaborative work that has helped to continue to drive standards higher

In the GCSE results, top performers included George Wallder, who achieved a 9 in English and science and an 8 in maths, plus two further 9s, two 7s, two grade 6s and a 4.

Ben Tipping, who achieved a 7 in English and 8 in both maths and science, added to his total with a further 9, 8 and 7, two distinctions and an A in his BTec studies and one 4.

Other successful GCSE students were:

Alessia Ciovirta (English and maths 7, science 9, plus one 9, two 8s, a 7, one BTec Merit, two 6s and a BTEC B).

Morgan Francis (English 5, maths and science 8, plus three 7s, two As at BTec level, one 6 and a 4).

Carl Meehan, Samrat Thapa, Yasminn Russell and Stephanie Redfearn were the students who made the most progress in the year.

Notable among the A level candidates was Christopher Douglas, who is heading to Reading University to study accounting and management after achieving a Distinction and a Distinction* in his sports diploma studies plus an A in his finance diploma and a B in maths.

Top student overall was Nikoleta Ivanova, who achieved an A in maths and Bs in media and physics, despite the fact that she could not speak English two years ago, and is off to study robotics at Bristol University.

Taylor Holmes is heading to Salford to study sports rehabilitation after receiving three Distinctions in her double sports and applied science studies.

Other high achievers at A level included:

Jasmine Baker, who achieved three Bs in maths, psychology and photography.

Charlie Barden, who will be studying law with business after achieving an A in maths and Cs in film studies and law.

Year 6 Open Mornings / Evenings

30/08/18

Dear Parents/Carers,

We are delighted to invite you to visit our school to view the facilities, talk to our students and staff and witness the high academic standards we achieve.

We have developed our academic provision and enhanced our pastoral care systems with great results. Please feel free to attend our open mornings and/or open evening as advertised. Should you require an alternative appointment to this, please do not hesitate to contact the school reception on 01233 614600 and we will endeavour to make other arrangements for you to view our school.

Welcome Back 2018

Sixth Form Results

22/08/18

We’ve been congratulating our sixth formers on their A level successes and helping those who need more guidance following the release of the examination results today.

In what was another good set of results for The North, our pupils achieved a 97% pass rate at A* to E across all qualifications, in line with national figures and matching the high standard we have set in recent years.

Our students did well in both academic and vocational subjects and we were particularly pleased that we maintained our average grade of Distinction in the BTec and other vocational examinations.

“We are very pleased with this year’s results, which reflect a huge amount of work by the students and great support from their teachers and parents,” said Director of Sixth Form Siobhan Matthews.

“While the percentage of pupils getting the top grades dipped very slightly, reflecting the fact that the qualifications are more rigorous this year, our results overall have maintained a consistently high standard.”

Particular congratulations must go to Nikoleta Ivanova, who achieved an A in maths and Bs in media and physics, despite the fact that she could not speak English two years ago. Nikoleta has a place to study robotics at Bristol University.

Christopher Douglas is heading to Reading University to study accounting and management after achieving a Distinction and a Distinction* in his sports diploma studies plus an A in his finance diploma and a B in maths.

Taylor Holmes is off to Salford to study sports rehabilitation after receiving three Distinctions in her double sports and applied science studies.

Other high achievers included Jasmine Baker, who achieved three Bs at A level in maths, psychology and photography, and Charlie Barden, who will be studying law with business after achieving an A in maths, and Cs in film studies and law.

Jasmine, who is heading to Canterbury Christ Church University to study primary education, said she was very pleased, particularly with her maths grade, and recognised that the results reflected the work she had put in.

We achieved particularly good results in sociology, maths, sport, finance and business, while 100% of pupils who undertook the extended project qualification (EPQ) achieved between A* and B grades.

Two-thirds of our pupils applied to university, and the impressive results meant most have been accepted by their first choice. We also made sure there were staff on hand during the morning to help anyone who needed advice and guidance.

The North School Farm Successes at The Kent County Show

13/07/18

The North School’s Young Farmers’ club attended The Kent County Show from 5th–8th July 2018 and regardless of the incredibly hot weather, achieved some brilliant results.

Twenty-two students, nine cattle, sixteen lambs, four pigs, four rabbits, four chickens, two ducks and two guinea pigs made the journey from Ashford to Detling to compete against sixteen other Kent Young Farmers’ clubs.

The North School won 48 rosettes and four trophies including Champion Pig Turnout, Reserve Champion Beef Conformation and Reserve Champion Calf Handling and Knowledge. The school’s Young Farmers Club was also presented with the trophy for Best Presented Club which is an outstanding achievement as this is judged over the whole weekend.

Rosettes are only awarded for five places and most of the classes had over fifteen animals, some of the lamb classes had over forty, so to come out with any rosette was a big success.

All students worked really hard and exhibited the school livestock very well, everyone should be very proud of their achievements.

Evolution Showcase Postponed

09/07/18

As you are aware the Evolution Showcase has fallen on the day England play the world cup semi-finals. As such we have made the decision to postpone the showcase until Wednesday 18th (the following week) July 2018 from 7pm in the Kent Hall. Please can you ensure that students are fully prepared for the evening with additional food and drink.

Please also ensure you pick up your child/ward from the front of reception at the end of the show.

All tickets sold will roll over to the following week. If there are any concerns, please let us know. To avoid confusion, we will keep the consent forms you have already signed for the following week. If there are any students who are unable to take part please let Miss Langston know.

The North School Ski Trip 2019

26/06/18

The North School Ski Trip 2019

Following a very successful trip to Andorra at Easter this year, we have provisionally booked another trip to Andorra with Rayburn Tours. It will again be to the Hotel Panorama in Andorra on 6th – 13th April 2019 and the cost will be the same at £775. It will be open to Year 7 & 8 students in the first instance and then depending on numbers we will open it up to other year groups.

There will be a letter coming out to all parents of Year 7 & 8 students and if you would like further details please do not hesitate to contact Miss Sweatman or Mrs Allon for further details.

May Half-Term Revision Schedule

Stagecoach - buses serving Hythe Road schools

Stagecoach have advised that the Ashford network has been subject to a major review and as such some of the buses serving our school have been affected.

The school's page on Stagecoach website will be up-dated in the next week or so to reflect these changes.

A summary of the changes are as follows:-

10A - AM service will now depart Sellindge at 0724. The PM service remains unchanged

121 - Will be withdrawn and replaced with the 1X service. This will commence from Chilham at 0745. Any student who currently travel from Molash or Shottenden will need to contact KCC regarding alternative travel arrangements.

2A - Will now depart Warehorne at 0722

11B - PM service will now depart the school slightly earlier at 1600 A Line - From Stanhope will now become D Line and will depart at 0739 and 0754 C - will operate every 10-12 mins.

A - From Singleton will not change.

E - will be renumbered to G and will now depart Gladstone Road at 0740.

Basketball Success

On Wednesday 28th March U16 North girls won Gold in the Ashford and Shepway District League Gold medal game at John Wallis Academy against Brockhill School with Year 10 student Lauren winning MVP.

On the same day, both U14 and U16 North boys won their Gold medal games in the Ashford and Shepway District League, both against John Wallis Academy, played at Ashford College.

And on Thursday 29th March our Varsity Lions were invited to the London Basketball Association Elite Men’s U24 Colleges tournament at the Copper Box in London as one of the top 12 teams in the country, where they won gold! Kai Potts was awarded the tournament’s MVP.

Canteen Menu Update

As the market leader, Chartwells provides catering and support services to over 360 secondary schools throughout the UK.

Chartwells is committed to ensuring our meals assist the outcomes of the government's Every Child Matters initiative. This aims to give all children the support they need to be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution and continue developing throughout their school years.

Thank you to parents/carers

01/03/18

Following the recent spell of bad weather, I wanted to thank you for your support and for following our advice today with regard to the later start and earlier finish for our students to enable their safe journeys to and from school.

We are pleased to advise that students did arrive safely into school and their behaviour throughout the day was faultless.

Please check our school website, emails and/or texts from the school with regard to tomorrow’s plans as I hope to review the situation very early in the morning.

Parents' Forum Meeting

Year 8 Options Evening

12/02/18

Year 8 Options Evening

Thank you to all those parents who attended our Year 8 Options Evening on Thursday 8th February in the Kent Hall. It was a really positive and successful evening and we had a fantastic 91% attendance with a few apologies given in advance. As mentioned on the evening, we have uploaded the power point from the evening to the website along with some additional advice and guidance on the new 9-1 assessment framework. If you were unable to attend we have sent your Options booklet and form to your home address.

Once you and your son/daughter have agreed on their preferred subjects, they need to complete the Options form and return by the deadline of Friday 23rd February. Don’t forget to put your 1st and 2nd choices.

If you need further information, advice or guidance or you would prefer to attend a meeting, then please do not hesitate to contact the Community Learning Leader in the first instance on our return to school on w/b 19th February.

The North School Spring Fair 2018

Online Safety

13/12/17

Online safety is an important part of keeping children safe at The North School. Online Safety is taught to all pupils within Computing and Values and our curriculum empowers children to understand and be aware how they can to stay safe and behave appropriately online but we can only be successful in keeping children safe online if we work with you.

Farm Awards Evening

13/12/17

The North School held our annual farm awards night last night. Students were recognised for their hard work, dedication and commitment to the school farm and Young Farmers’ club. The High Sheriff of Kent presented the awards and below is a list of specific awards given out.

Severe Weather Guidance

01/12/17

The winter season is upon us and so we would like to remind you of the procedures that will be followed in the event of adverse weather conditions. It is highly unlikely that we would close the school but as always, our top priority is the safety of our students. Below I have outlined the processes that are followed in the event of severe weather conditions.

We are a “GOOD” school. OFSTED report.

Students, parents, staff and governors can all take pride in last week’s announcement that Ofsted has judged The North School to be ‘good’ in every category, following an inspection at the end of September.

An “ethos of high ambition”, staff who are “committed to the vision of improving the achievement and well-being of every pupil” and “students who are proud of their school” were all praised by the inspectors, who also paid tribute to the school’s “highly active” governors.

This is an excellent result and I am delighted that the school is continuing to show such dramatic improvement

All the staff, and especially the students, should be congratulated for the overall outcome. We can all be very proud of our school.

The Ofsted report rated the school ‘good’ in each of five categories, including effectiveness of leadership and management, quality of teaching, learning and assessment and personal development, behaviour and welfare.

Inspectors said the rating, which is a significant improvement over the June 2015 assessment, reflected “high quality support” from the Swale Academies Trust as well as the fact that senior staff had “established an ethos of high ambition throughout the school”.

Inspectors commented on better attendance, the support of our governors, our broad and balanced curriculum and our wide range of extra-curricular opportunities. The report also noted that our sixth form students “achieve highly in both academic and vocational pathways”.

The journey of improvement at The North School has been recognised and confirmed, but we remain firmly committed to driving improvements so that our school continues to offer the very best for our students.

Sixth Form Open Evening - Thursday 16th November 2017

11/10/17

We are delighted to invite prospective students and parents for 2018 Entry to our Sixth Form Open Evening which will take place on Thursday 16th November 2017, from 5.00pm to 7.00pm. No booking necessary.

The Open Evening is an opportunity to see the school and visit departments to talk with staff and students and ask any questions that you may have about the curriculum and about Sixth Form life at The North School.

LATEST SPORTS RESULTS

Speakers Trust

04/10/17

Future Voices Kent and Medway is a new programme for Year 11 students, generously supported by the Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust. It is designed to provide students with essential communication skills for life beyond the classroom.

An interactive training day of public speaking, interviewing and networking is offered to students aged 15-16, who then have the chance to represent their school in a high-profile Showcase Event. The evening features a public speaking competition followed by a networking event, where students can practise their skills and connect with local employers, Higher Education Institutions and business leaders.

The training gives students the self-belief, skills and networks to take the next step in life with confidence, empowering them to seize every opportunity available to them.

Twenty five Year 11 North School students took part in this programme in school on Tuesday 3rd October. The programme was delivered by Ore Ogungbayi who inspired everyone and we thank her for giving these students a day they will never forget. Six students will be selected to take part in school assemblies where one student will be chosen for a regional showcase hosting forty schools in Kent and Medway region.

Are you being bullied? We can put a stop to this.

Year 6 Open Mornings / Evening

We are delighted to invite you to visit our school to view the facilities, talk to our students and
staff and witness the high academic standard we achieve.

We have developed our academic provision and enhanced our pastoral care systems with great results.
Please feel free to attend our open mornings and/or open evening as advertised.

Should you require an alternative appointment to this, please do not hesitate to
contact the school reception on 01233 614600 and we will endeavour to make other arrangements for
you to view our school.

Kent Fire Brigade Road Safety Experience in Rochester

12/09/17

The North School took thirty seven of our Sixth Form students to participate in the Kent Fire Brigade Road Safety Experience in Rochester on Monday 11 September.

The trip was a huge success with the Kent Fire & Rescue staff (and even the coach driver commenting) on how well the students behaved and engaged with the activities. The course taught the students a lot of valuable information including breaking distances, understanding how to help in an emergency, alcohol units in drinks and what to do themselves to reduce the risks of being involved in an accident.

Our thanks also go to Mrs Marples who did an excellent job in organising the trip.

Year 11 Parent Information Evening

08/09/17

Year 11 Parent Information Evening

A big thank you to everyone who attended the Y11 Parent Information Evening last night. It was a great success with over 300 people there. There were presentations from the Head of School – Mrs Lawrence, the Deputies, Assistant Head of Communities and Learning Leaders. Thanks also to Mrs Greenfield who gave us an account of her experience as a parent of a Year 11 student last year. There was an opportunity to visit English, Maths and Science rooms to find out more about the courses, resources and buy revision guides. I have attached the Powerpoint used last night and the key dates for information. If you have any further questions or queries or would like to buy revision guides, please do not hesitate to contact the Learning Leaders.

GCSE Results

With new specifications affecting many subjects and the national picture far from settled, the results showed that the hard work put in by teaching staff and students had paid off.

The school’s maths results were particularly pleasing, with 65 per cent of students achieving a grade 4 or above and 40per cent hitting grade 5. Other subjects that saw impressive improvements include science, geography, IT, and PE.

Top performer was Ralph Battle (English 8, maths 9, four A*s, two As), while other students who did well included Louise Day (English 8, maths 6, three As, three Bs) Charlie Westpfel (English 5, maths 6, three As, two Bs), Wiktoria Andrearczyk (English 5, maths 7, three As, 2Bs, Tommy Horton (English 6, maths 7, one A, four Bs) and Rebekah Johnson (English 6, maths 7, one A, four Bs).

A large number of students have applied for university places this year, and all of them have been offered conditional or unconditional places at universities including Kent, Southampton, Oxford Brookes, De Montfort, Surrey, Brunel and Greenwich.

Sports Awards Evening

Will Bayley MBE was born with arthrogryposis (curved joints at birth) which is a debilitating condition that affects movement in all four limbs. At age 7 Will was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma resulting in gruelling and numerous chemotherapy sessions. His grandmother brought him a table tennis set to help distract him and help his rehabilitation. In an interview with the BBC, Will credits his past experiences have helped him develop an 'unrivalled winning mentality'.

Will took Silver in London 2012 and then through hard work and dedication achieved his dream of Gold at Rio 2016.

Will is currently ranked number one in the World and has been European champion in 2011 before becoming World Champion in 2014. What an inspiration!

The North School were honoured to hear Will's story last night and hope that our students can be inspired by his determination and resilience to succeed despite any setbacks that might be experienced along the way.

We should also like to thank our sponsors West One Interior Solutions for their continued support with running our annual Sports Awards Evening.

Open Evening & School Tours

12/07/17

We are pleased to announce our Open Evening will be held on Wednesday 4th October 2017 from 5pm-8pm. Please note there will be talks at 5:30pm and 6:30pm in the Kent Hall.

Should you also wish to come and have a look around the school during the school day we are also hosting Open Mornings. These will take place from Monday 2nd October 2017 at 9:00am until Friday 13th October 2017 (except Thursday 5th October).

Please advise your name, child's current primary school and telephone contact details. Please note that due to the popularity of these morning tours, we can only have a maximum of one child and two adults per booking.

Collaborate!

12/07/17

Our students will be taking part in a inter-Trust visual art show next week hosted at The Community College Whitstable.

The work being exhibited has been carefully selected to showcase the best art and photography work from The North School. The North School is known for high quality Art and Photography, with many students opting for the subjects at GCSE and A level.

This exciting venture is the first time a joint visual exhibition has taken place between all the high schools at Swale Academies Trust and demonstrates how collaborative projects can drive standards forward.

We are proud of the student’s achievements and wish them well in their future.

SwaleFest Student Leadership Conference

English: Young Writers Welcome to Wonderland Competition

26/06/17

‘Young Writers Welcome to Wonderland Competition’ The following students have been published in the collection: Elouise Noah Year 7, Cerys Prue Year 8, Harry Galton Year 9 and Emily Wilson Year 13. #superstars

Maths: National Mathematics Award presented to North School student

26/06/17

Ralph Battle joined The North School in September 2016 when it became apparent that he was very good at Mathematics. In so far that Mr Munday, Ralph’s Year 11 Mathematics teacher, entered Ralph into the Intermediate Maths Challenge, a National competition in February 2017 and Ralph achieved a Gold award. Furthermore, Ralph qualified to take part in the Intermediate Mathematical Olympiad – only the top 500 students in that age group in the country are selected. This was a 3.5 hour challenge involving 6 problem solving questions – Ralph achieved a perfect score in 4 of them. This placed Ralph just outside the top 50 (by 1 mark) – so he receives a medal for his efforts!

Science: Exciting Events In Science

26/06/17

On the 17th January 2017 The North School teamed up with Canterbury Christ Church University PCGE students for an exciting day filled with experiments and learning.

Student teachers on the PGCE 11 -18 programme at Canterbury Christ Church University have been working as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) ambassadors in a joint venture with Kent and Medway Stem. As part of their development, senior lecturers from the University have been supporting the post-graduate student teachers as they take their programme of workshops across the country. The North School were lucky enough to be chosen.

Eighteen PCGE students delivered some fantastic engaging activities that they had developed to engage and enhance the learning and social skills of Year 7 students.

The morning began with the PCGE students setting up activities - these included dressing for the occasion, wearing costumes related to different lessons. Cat Woman, astronauts and even Harry Potter was in the equation!

During the sessions, six classrooms offered a variety of tasks ranging from Mathematical quests, problem solving, treasure hunts, checking pulse rate, stamina test ‘Who likes to be cold?’, lung capacity, building spaceships and making potions that Harry Potter could use.

Throughout the each session the pupils were fully engaged and each room you visited was buzzing with enthusiasm from the students. The atmosphere was wonderful; other year groups that were not involved were keen to investigate what was going on and wanted to take part. The students were amazing and their positive engagement was noted by the PGCE students who had organised the activities for the day.

Feedback from students:

“I liked the way they mixed up Science and Maths with the theme”

“Fun, really enjoyable, amazing actors. Harry Potter gave me the feeling that a colossal troll was stomping through Hogwarts. I felt like I was transported to Hogwarts”

Business and Finance: Premier Foods Link

26/06/17

Our links with Premier Foods have enabled us to enrich the curriculum of our Business Studies students. This project was the culmination of a long term assignment which allowed our students to apply classroom theory to a genuine task set and delivered by Premier Foods. The task gave students the opportunity to move away from the classroom and experience the work undertaken by a variety of different departments within a large local organisation. It has allowed our students to demonstrate their ability in a unique way, taking them out of their comfort zone whilst preparing them for a career beyond school.

Students from The North School recently displayed their impressive business and design skills in front of a high-powered panel of judges from a local company.

The BTEC Level 3 Business Studies students found themselves presenting their ideas for a new product to a panel of experts from Premier Foods in the latest stage of our successful ‘Adopt a School’ project.

The project is a unique partnership between the school, Kennington-based Premier Foods and research and training charity IGD - the Institute of Grocery Distribution.

After a first session in which a team from Premier Foods’ human resources department visited the school to work on CV writing and interview techniques with a group of Year 10s, the company’s Innovations Team took up the challenge of working with the Year 13 business studies group.

After outlining how the company – which makes Batchelors Cup A Soup - uses market research, innovation, product development and new lines to stay ahead of its competitors, the team set our teenagers a challenge.

The students were asked to come up with their own soup variety, carry out market testing, design the packaging and put forward marketing proposals for their product – a task they tackled brilliantly, supported by Vernice Lamberton, the school’s Careers Manager and Sixth Form Finance and Business Administration tutor.

At the follow up session our groups addressed a panel of Premier Foods experts with their plans for a range of products, from roast dinner flavoured soup to sweet soup flavours and chocolate on a stick.

IGD Engagement Manager Karine Barsam said IGD was keen to engage with young people who might be looking for a career in the industry, while Vernice said it had been “an amazing experience”. She thanked the Premier Foods team for “their inspirational work with a great set of pupils”.

18 year-old Lauren Best said presenting to the panel had initially been “terrifying”, but added that it had been a really great experience.

“I loved the way we were able to take our learning outside the classroom and apply it to a real business model. I’ve learned a lot and I think this is a fantastic initiative,” she said.

The good news for Lauren and our other pupils is that the aim is for the partnership to continue, with more joint initiatives already being discussed.

History: Year 7 Homework - Castle Challenge

26/06/17

Our year 7 students undertook their history homework challenge with enthusiasm this term. The challenge required students to design and create their own medieval castle. The standard of the castles we received was exceptional and most students went above and beyond the requirements of the task. We had a range of styles, layouts and materials and our department is now beautifully decorated with their hard work. Well done year 7.

History: Auschwitz Trip

26/06/17

Lessons from Auschwitz is a programme established by the Holocaust Educational Trust, where it gives the opportunity to two students from each school participating to be a part of the programme. The programme consists of two seminars and the trip to Poland. The first seminar is where you meet your Educator and your group; it is where discussions are had and opinions and views voiced on the Holocaust. We were fortunate enough to also be able to meet and talk to a Holocaust survivor, Steve Frank. It was very interesting to listen to him and learn what it was like for him as a ten year old to live in Auschwitz and be one of only seventy three children to survive. Steve Frank mentioned something that hit home with many of the students – “each day the amount of children were getting less and less until you could count them all on your hands.”

The visit to Auschwitz 1 and Auschwitz-Birkenau gave all the students the opportunity to be present in the grounds where such tragic events occurred. This gave us a real life perspective on what the people went through. As we approached the end of Auschwitz-Birkenau the guides left us in a room where thousands of photographs hung on walls; these were photos which had been brought and hung by people as keep-sakes of themselves and their families. These photos were a way of showing the human side to the victims and stopped them being seen as just a number in a graph, on a map, in a textbook, on a shelf - left to gather dust.

Many years later, a poem was found within the soil of Auschwitz-Birkenau written by one of the Nazi Guard, it read “I only had one job, it had to be fulfilled.” Later on, investigators also discovered many other letters and poems that had been written and left by the Jews in the hope that they would be found and read one day.

Any thoughts people have about what Auschwitz is like are completely different to the reality of it. When you first step into Auschwitz you know immediately that your expectations were wrong. No one can imagine what it was like and the just the scenery surrounding the camp helps to explain it all; it is eerie and uninhabited.

Being open minded helps when processing all of the information being communicated throughout the tour. We ourselves knew very little about the Holocaust and were therefore open to hearing as much as possible in the little time we were there, but it turned out that the words we heard were not what affected us the most, it was what we saw! Any thoughts of what we imagined we would see were gone and we were left feeling shell shocked.

Rabbi Garson spoke to everyone at the end of the day and he couldn’t have been more inspirational. He spoke about three things - fear, hunger and evil. Do we really understand what those words mean today, because for the Jews those words came to have a very different definition? What we feel as fear isn’t the same as the fear they felt - when we think we are starving, they were actually starving and how whatever we believe evil is, they saw true evil. Realisation of these facts hit home to us at that point, not only where these people tortured and killed, but they were dehumanised as well.

The atmosphere travelling back was the complete reverse of the journey there. Small conversations were heard between new friends all processing the day and sharing their thoughts. The groups went from chatty and humorous to quiet and thoughtful; no one could immediately process what they had seen and to be honest nobody really wanted to believe it.

Technology Subjects: Food technology muffin bake winners

26/06/17

Food technology students have been perfecting their muffin baking skills. Year 9 were challenged to develop a unique muffin flavour and their own recipe. They trialed and developed the recipes over 3 weeks, constantly improving and developing the flavour, presentation and quality of bake. The final was judged by a professional chef. The standard of entry was really high with outstanding products from the whole group. The winners Logan, Tia and Danielle (from left to right) were rightly proud of their creations. Well done.

The North School was honoured to be invited to exhibit students’ artwork for ‘The Beatles Event’ at The Creative Collective in Park Mall, Ashford during March 2016.

Two walls were dedicated to the School, which included forty three portraits from Year 7 and 8 students. All pieces were judged and First, Second and Third prizes were awarded on the Opening Night by the Mayor of Ashford, Councillor Geraldine Dyer.

The Creative Collective is an exciting initiative for Ashford and The North School are hoping to develop a long-standing and artistic relationship with the Collective. We wish this venture every success for the future and highly recommend a visit.

Maths: Maths Challenge

26/06/17

On Thursday 5th November a number of our Sixth Form students took part in the UKMT Senior Mathematics Challenge. This is an individual problem solving challenge targeting the top 30% of mathematics students nationwide.Â The top performing student for 2015 was our very own year 12 student Massimo Intini. Our congratulations go to Massimo Â Well Done. Other certificates were earned by our year 13 students Chris McLennen, Matt Cox, Matt Boulding, Jake Allcock and Lewis Bradford.This represents the largest SMC certificate haul ever for The North School!

"The UK Maths Challenge is a great way to challenge your maths skills. I really enjoyed doing it and would love to do it again." -Â Matt Boulding.

"The maths challenge was enjoyable and I would recommend it for any aspiring mathematicians, especially those intending to do A level maths." -Â Matt Cox.

English: Year 12 Literature Visit

26/06/17

Year 12 English Literature visited the University of Kent at Canterbury today for a Text and Language course. Students visited a range of workshops and had a great day exploring the university. #englishliterature #ukc

English: World Book Day 2017

26/06/17

Staff and students celebrated World Book Day on 2nd March. The staff from the English department took the opportunity to dress as their favourite book character, whilst year 7 were treated to a book reading by members of The North Shadows book group.

There were also a number of competitions, including the challenge to create a book cover for your favourite book.

The winning entries were produced by Giselle Desseaux, Year 7 and Isobel Jeffrey Year 9.

The year 8 winner of the book cover competition is Sophia Scott Winham.

The staff from the English department took the opportunity to dress as their favourite book character.

School Leadership Elections

Year 7 Exhibition - Celebration of Work

08/06/17

On Friday 26th May 2017 an exhibition was held to celebrate the work that has been produced in English, Mathematics and Science by Year 7 students. There were some outstanding pieces of work created that demonstrated excellent effort, progress and attainment that students should be very proud of.

In order to award our winners we held a special rewards assembly on the last day of term which was attended by The Lord Mayor of Ashford, Councillor Winston Michael and Deputy Mayoress, Mrs Doreen Michael and school governors. We were also delighted to welcome Claire Elliott from East Stour Primary School who came to see how their students had progressed into secondary education and was pleased to catch up with them.

The Mayor was very complimentary saying that the pupils had created some outstanding work and should be very proud of themselves. He also stated that the school improvement journey had been impressive and he could see that the school would go from strength to strength.

All of our winners were treated to a special lunch in the Kent Hall where they could show off their work to our guests and celebrate the success that they have had in year 7 so far.

National Mathematics Award presented to North School student

08/06/17

Ralph Battle joined The North School in September 2016 when it became apparent that he was very good at Mathematics. In so far that Mr Munday, Ralph’s Year 11 Mathematics teacher, entered Ralph into the Intermediate Maths Challenge, a National competition in February 2017 and Ralph achieved a Gold award. Furthermore, Ralph qualified to take part in the Intermediate Mathematical Olympiad – only the top 500 students in that age group in the country are selected. This was a 3.5 hour challenge involving 6 problem solving questions – Ralph achieved a perfect score in 4 of them. This placed Ralph just outside the top 50 (by 1 mark) – so he receives a medal for his efforts!

End of Year Assessments Year 7-10

The North School Ski Trip

24/05/17

Twenty students from The North School and Community College Whitstable embarked on a joint School Ski Trip to Austria during the Easter holidays. It was a very picturesque resort with some stunning scenery.

The students had five hours of ski lessons per day and we were lucky to get some fresh powder snow during the week. All of the children went on the funicular railway to the top of the mountain and in the evenings we went swimming, bowling and experienced a shopping trip to the beautiful city of Innsbruck. We had a brilliant time!

We are now in the process of organising next year's trip ... so watch this space.

SwaleFest 2017

The North School was proud to be part of this inaugural event organised by Swale Academies Trust with Year 10 students Nathan Bispham and Layna Gillott-Edwards speaking at the opening ceremony.

Top speakers including a former Government minister and leading education specialists from across the country set the scene for an inspirational conference attended by close to 600 secondary school teachers. The teachers who packed the sports hall at Westlands School in Sittingbourne for SwaleFest 2017 came from schools that are part of, or supported by, Swale Academies Trust. After hearing from renowned keynote speakers including former Minister of State Lord Jim Knight and leading educationalist Steve Munby, the delegates took part in a series of debates and workshops aimed at sharing best practice in schools and the teaching profession.

The conference, described as “a showcase of excellence”, was set up as a celebration of teaching and learning for schools that belong to the steadily expanding trust, together with a number of guests.

The North School Spring Fair

24/05/17

On Saturday 22nd April, The North School Farm opened its doors to the community for its annual Spring Fair. Visitors had the opportunity to see a wide range of animals including lambs, calves and pigs. There were also games and stalls to keep visitors entertained. Members of the school’s successful Young Farmers’ club were on hand to answer questions and show visitors around.

The High Sheriff of Kent, Mr Jessel attended the event and had a guided tour of the farm by the students. He spent time asking about the animals and chatting to members of the Young Farmers’ club.

It was a brilliant day and all funds raised from the event will go to the farm.

The North School staff take on and survive Tough Mudder

17/05/17

On Saturday 6th May 2017 staff from The North School wanted to prove to their students that they too can put themselves out of their comfort zone, just as the exam season approaches, to show that with a little self belief they can also achieve to take part in the Tough Mudder event.

Tough Mudder is a hardcore 12 mile-long obstacle course designed by the Special Forces to test a person’s all round strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie. Participants fight their way through mud, fire, ice water and 10,000 volts of electricity. With over 1,000,000 participants worldwide, Tough Mudder has become a global phenomenon and the ultimate adventure challenge series in the world.

In addition to surviving the course, the team raised £2,360 for local charities, which included The Stroke Association, in memory of our colleague Lynn Eales who sadly passed away last year.

Ex-Student visits after 66 years

17/05/17

In an idea to develop links with ex-students in order to be able to share their experiences of university and career paths with our current students, Head of Sixth Form at The North School, Mrs Matthews made contact with some previous students.

One response came from a Dr Peter Frost (photo attached) who at the age of 81 is the oldest known ex-student to have visited the school some 66 years after completing his studies.

On a visit to the school yesterday, Dr Frost was shown around the site by Mrs Marples (Social Sciences & Law teacher) and Dr Frost could recall the school playing fields and the two original buildings, the Essella and Mabledon blocks with the same stained glass windows.

Mr Robbins (Sixth Form) then sat and listened to Dr Frost’s experience of school, what it was like to be at The North School during the war and learnt how Dr Frost had gone on to study Dentistry and ran his own practises. Dr Frost now delivers lectures and is very keen on tennis – still receiving coaching lessons at the age of 81. He has also had papers published in Dentistry in a number of journals and has informed the school that he would like to visit again to support any way possible and to see if there are any photos within the school archives during his years of study.

It was an absolute privilege to have Dr Frost at the school and we hopefully look forward to keeping him updated with our progress.

BBC Story featuring The North School

08/05/17

Over the past five months, one Year 10 Mathematics class have been trialling a revolutionary new educational website called Century. The website uses artificial intelligence to enable students to make progress in Mathematics.

On Monday 13th March 2017, the BBC visited The North School to produce a documentary on Century showing the software and how it works.

The North School is on Twitter

SwaleFest - 28 April 2017

14/03/17

SwaleFest has arisen from collaborative projects and successful network meetings across Swale Academies Trust. Its vision, produced through exhilarating debates around teaching and learning, will celebrate the evolution of pedagogy in the form of a lively and stimulating education festival which will bring together professionals, educational leaders and teachers from across the Trust.

“This event is a celebration of exciting teaching and learning from around our Trust. It will be the first of many opportunities for our staff from across Kent and East Sussex to participate, share ideas and forge new partnerships.”Derek Trimmer, Director of Secondary.

This one day event will take on the traditional features of an education conference with contributions from Keynote speakers such as Steve Munby CBE, CEO Education Development Trust, Dominic Herrington, Regional Schools Commissioner- South East England and South London, Priya Lakhani, Founder of CENTURY-Tech, Lord Jim Knight, Chief Education Adviser tes.com and David Crossley, Executive Director Whole Education. The festival with 600+ delegates will comprise of live debates, inspirational key note speakers and various teacher-led workshops.

“We see it as inventive professional development for staff to share best practice and network with their peers. Teaching can be isolated - we want to change this and expand opportunities for the hero in the classroom to shine. We have an impressive line-up of key speakers from the world of education as well as practical workshops run for teachers by teachers.”

These workshops will challenge established norms, engage in lively, cutting edge critical debates to give teachers the freedom to question and intellectual space to define a new professionalism fit for the 21st century.

SwaleFest will be held at Westlands School, Sittingbourne, Kent - 28 April 2017.

SwaleFest is a showcase of excellence across the Trust and will be a scene-setter of what is going on in Teaching and Learning throughout the organisation.

The North School Farm - Spring Fair 2017

World Book Day 2017

06/03/17

Staff and students celebrated World Book Day on 2nd March. The staff from the English department took the opportunity to dress as their favourite book character, whilst year 7 were treated to a book reading by members of The North Shadows book group.

There were also a number of competitions, including the challenge to create a book cover for your favourite book.

The winning entries were produced by Giselle Desseaux, Year 7 and Isobel Jeffrey Year 9.

The year 8 winner of the book cover competition is Sophia Scott Winham.

The staff from the English department took the opportunity to dress as their favourite book character.

Secondary Offer Day 2017

02/03/17

Following National Offer Day, we are pleased that your child has been offered The North School and we look forward to welcoming you to our school.

We now await your Pink Acceptance/Refusal form (deadline Thursday 16th March 2017) and request that you also provide the following supporting documentation as proof of address supplied in your application.

If you are accepting the offer please be aware the school may request 2 pieces of evidence that support the address supplied in your application for you AND your child. Examples of acceptable evidence include….

Please Note - The Admissions Authority reserves the right to request further supporting documentation where it believes the evidence provided is insufficient to prove residence at the application address.

Exciting Events In Science

22/02/17

On the 17th January 2017 The North School teamed up with Canterbury Christ Church University PCGE students for an exciting day filled with experiments and learning.

Student teachers on the PGCE 11 -18 programme at Canterbury Christ Church University have been working as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) ambassadors in a joint venture with Kent and Medway Stem. As part of their development, senior lecturers from the University have been supporting the post-graduate student teachers as they take their programme of workshops across the country. The North School were lucky enough to be chosen.

Eighteen PCGE students delivered some fantastic engaging activities that they had developed to engage and enhance the learning and social skills of Year 7 students.

The morning began with the PCGE students setting up activities - these included dressing for the occasion, wearing costumes related to different lessons. Cat Woman, astronauts and even Harry Potter was in the equation!

During the sessions, six classrooms offered a variety of tasks ranging from Mathematical quests, problem solving, treasure hunts, checking pulse rate, stamina test ‘Who likes to be cold?’, lung capacity, building spaceships and making potions that Harry Potter could use.

Throughout the each session the pupils were fully engaged and each room you visited was buzzing with enthusiasm from the students. The atmosphere was wonderful; other year groups that were not involved were keen to investigate what was going on and wanted to take part. The students were amazing and their positive engagement was noted by the PGCE students who had organised the activities for the day.

Feedback from students:

“I liked the way they mixed up Science and Maths with the theme”

“Fun, really enjoyable, amazing actors. Harry Potter gave me the feeling that a colossal troll was stomping through Hogwarts. I felt like I was transported to Hogwarts”

Premier Foods Link

16/01/17

Our links with Premier Foods have enabled us to enrich the curriculum of our Business Studies students. This project was the culmination of a long term assignment which allowed our students to apply classroom theory to a genuine task set and delivered by Premier Foods. The task gave students the opportunity to move away from the classroom and experience the work undertaken by a variety of different departments within a large local organisation. It has allowed our students to demonstrate their ability in a unique way, taking them out of their comfort zone whilst preparing them for a career beyond school.

Students from The North School recently displayed their impressive business and design skills in front of a high-powered panel of judges from a local company.

The BTEC Level 3 Business Studies students found themselves presenting their ideas for a new product to a panel of experts from Premier Foods in the latest stage of our successful ‘Adopt a School’ project.

The project is a unique partnership between the school, Kennington-based Premier Foods and research and training charity IGD - the Institute of Grocery Distribution.

After a first session in which a team from Premier Foods’ human resources department visited the school to work on CV writing and interview techniques with a group of Year 10s, the company’s Innovations Team took up the challenge of working with the Year 13 business studies group.

After outlining how the company – which makes Batchelors Cup A Soup - uses market research, innovation, product development and new lines to stay ahead of its competitors, the team set our teenagers a challenge.

The students were asked to come up with their own soup variety, carry out market testing, design the packaging and put forward marketing proposals for their product – a task they tackled brilliantly, supported by Vernice Lamberton, the school’s Careers Manager and Sixth Form Finance and Business Administration tutor.

At the follow up session our groups addressed a panel of Premier Foods experts with their plans for a range of products, from roast dinner flavoured soup to sweet soup flavours and chocolate on a stick.

IGD Engagement Manager Karine Barsam said IGD was keen to engage with young people who might be looking for a career in the industry, while Vernice said it had been “an amazing experience”. She thanked the Premier Foods team for “their inspirational work with a great set of pupils”.

18 year-old Lauren Best said presenting to the panel had initially been “terrifying”, but added that it had been a really great experience.

“I loved the way we were able to take our learning outside the classroom and apply it to a real business model. I’ve learned a lot and I think this is a fantastic initiative,” she said.

The good news for Lauren and our other pupils is that the aim is for the partnership to continue, with more joint initiatives already being discussed.

Year 7 Homework - Castle Challenge

12/01/17

Our year 7 students undertook their history homework challenge with enthusiasm this term. The challenge required students to design and create their own medieval castle. The standard of the castles we received was exceptional and most students went above and beyond the requirements of the task. We had a range of styles, layouts and materials and our department is now beautifully decorated with their hard work. Well done year 7.

Auschwitz Trip

12/01/17

Lessons from Auschwitz is a programme established by the Holocaust Educational Trust, where it gives the opportunity to two students from each school participating to be a part of the programme. The programme consists of two seminars and the trip to Poland. The first seminar is where you meet your Educator and your group; it is where discussions are had and opinions and views voiced on the Holocaust. We were fortunate enough to also be able to meet and talk to a Holocaust survivor, Steve Frank. It was very interesting to listen to him and learn what it was like for him as a ten year old to live in Auschwitz and be one of only seventy three children to survive. Steve Frank mentioned something that hit home with many of the students – “each day the amount of children were getting less and less until you could count them all on your hands.”

The visit to Auschwitz 1 and Auschwitz-Birkenau gave all the students the opportunity to be present in the grounds where such tragic events occurred. This gave us a real life perspective on what the people went through. As we approached the end of Auschwitz-Birkenau the guides left us in a room where thousands of photographs hung on walls; these were photos which had been brought and hung by people as keep-sakes of themselves and their families. These photos were a way of showing the human side to the victims and stopped them being seen as just a number in a graph, on a map, in a textbook, on a shelf - left to gather dust.

Many years later, a poem was found within the soil of Auschwitz-Birkenau written by one of the Nazi Guard, it read “I only had one job, it had to be fulfilled.” Later on, investigators also discovered many other letters and poems that had been written and left by the Jews in the hope that they would be found and read one day.

Any thoughts people have about what Auschwitz is like are completely different to the reality of it. When you first step into Auschwitz you know immediately that your expectations were wrong. No one can imagine what it was like and the just the scenery surrounding the camp helps to explain it all; it is eerie and uninhabited.

Being open minded helps when processing all of the information being communicated throughout the tour. We ourselves knew very little about the Holocaust and were therefore open to hearing as much as possible in the little time we were there, but it turned out that the words we heard were not what affected us the most, it was what we saw! Any thoughts of what we imagined we would see were gone and we were left feeling shell shocked.

Rabbi Garson spoke to everyone at the end of the day and he couldn’t have been more inspirational. He spoke about three things - fear, hunger and evil. Do we really understand what those words mean today, because for the Jews those words came to have a very different definition? What we feel as fear isn’t the same as the fear they felt - when we think we are starving, they were actually starving and how whatever we believe evil is, they saw true evil. Realisation of these facts hit home to us at that point, not only where these people tortured and killed, but they were dehumanised as well.

The atmosphere travelling back was the complete reverse of the journey there. Small conversations were heard between new friends all processing the day and sharing their thoughts. The groups went from chatty and humorous to quiet and thoughtful; no one could immediately process what they had seen and to be honest nobody really wanted to believe it.

Sixth Form News - Volume 1, Issue 1

Christmas Boxes for the Salvation Army

20/12/16

Today, we welcomed representatives from the Salvation Army into our school in order to receive the donations of food and gifts from students. As part of our drive to become more aware of the community around us, we encouraged tutors groups to produce a Christmas box to be given to the less fortunate in our neighbourhood. This campaign was twofold, gifts and food. This enabled our students to become self-aware as well as charitable during the Christmas period, when the more vulnerable in our society are suffering more than at other times throughout the year.

Christmas boxes were donated from many different students. Some of these even donated large bags of food for families using their own pocket money. Special acknowledgement and thanks should be given to these students along with all others that donated.

Adverse Weather Conditions

The winter season is upon us and so we would like to remind you of the procedures that will be followed in the event of adverse weather conditions. It is highly unlikely that we would close the school but as always, our top priority is the safety of our students. Below I have outlined the processes that are followed in the event of severe weather conditions.

HOW WE MAKE OUR DECISION

Please understand that we make the decision to close the school in bad weather based on a careful consideration of a number of factors, some of which include the local road conditions and public transport; how long the period of bad weather is likely to continue and the condition of the school grounds and buildings etc.

HOW WILL YOU BE NOTIFIED

Parents/Carers will be notified of a school closure through various channels, these include:

It is highly unlikely that we will close the school after the start of the school day. However, if conditions get worse during the day, we may need to have an early dismissal. If this is the case we will attempt to contact and give adequate notice to all parents/carers first. It is important during any period of adverse weather that parents/carers monitor the school website and schoolcomms for notifications and updates.

Although the staff and I do our absolute best in this process, we know that often no perfect decision exists.

We hope that this explanation helps everyone understand the process that we use during periods of severe weather to make the best possible decision for all the students in our care.

The Adopt a School Pilot, the story so far

21/11/16

The Adopt a School Pilot, the story so far

The North School was approached by the IGD a research and training charity back in the spring with the opportunity to get involved in the Adopt a School Pilot, the aim being an opportunity for companies and schools to trial out different initiatives and build impactful relationships which help students develop employability skills. The local company the school has been adopted by is Premier Food. They have thirteen different sites one being based in Ashford where their factory produces a range of dry food products such as Batchelor’s Cup-a-Soups.

The initial session agreed upon was to work with a group of Year 10 students supporting them with the writing of their CV and interview techniques. Premier Foods brought a team from their Human Resources Department to run a morning session, students were encouraged to engage in a number of activities getting them to think about themselves, their skills and abilities and how these impact on the interview process.

More recently the Innovations Team based at Ashford have started working with our year 13 Business Studies students, the team came into the school and gave a very detailed presentation on how the company reacts to competitors in terms of market research, innovation, product development and launch of new lines. Students where then given a business challenge to work on based around how they would react in such a situation and the process they would undertake to launch their own new product. The team return to the School along with representative from the IGD in December where the students will present their ideas, they will be judged on the marketing process they followed and the new product idea.

The feedback from all involved in these initial sessions has been extremely positive and we look forward to continuing its success in developing more opportunities.

Business and Finance: Careers - RAF Roadshow

21/11/16

RAF Roadshow

On 7th November 2016 year 8 students were visited by the RAF and watched a presentation on 'Fun with Flight' a jet fuelled presentation exploring the physics of flying. Students discovered how the physics they study in the classroom is an integral part of the work that engineers undertake in the RAF and other engineering organisations.

Using exciting demonstrations, students took part in some literally jaw dropping experiments. Drones, balloons and even jet engines were explored.

Online Appointment Booking For Parents Evening

18/11/16

The school has introduced a new intuitive and easy to use online appointment booking system for parents’ evenings. This new system allows you to choose your own appointment times with teachers online and you will then receive an email confirming your appointments.
We are confident this will be an improvement to the previous system and welcome any feedback.

9E4's Sponsored Run

11/11/16

During the lunch period today, one form group from The North School braved the chilly temperatures in their trainers to run in aid of the Progressive Supranuclear Palsy Association. This was 9E4’s second fundraiser for the charity, which supports people living with PSP – a terminal neurological condition that can affect balance, vision and swallowing amongst other things. Last month’s bake sale raised an admirable £50 but this lunchtime saw the bar raised, with more than £500 worth of sponsorship collected so far. Members of both the school and local community have been generous of time and spirit to raise money for a cause close to their hearts; even form teacher Jessica Langston and Vice Principal Matthew Hake dug out their running shoes.

With a large part of the year left to go this form are ambitious to keep fundraising for a charity that supports more than 4000 people a year in the UK; there are already future events being discussed and a total target of £1000 has been set.

9E4's Sponsored Run

11/11/16

At lunch time today (11/11/2016), a sponsored run organised by Miss Langston and her 9E4 students has been arranged. Both Miss Langston and Mr Hake are joining in on the run on the all-weather pitch starting at 12:25pm. This is to raise awareness and money for the rare terminal brain disease, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP). Thank you to everyone who has donated so far, there is still time to sponsor, there will be collection buckets at the run if you wish to donate. They have already raised well over £500 and their target is to get up to £600 if possible.

Exam Date Information

Modern Foreign Languages: North School Buddy Programme

08/09/16

This July The North School hosted a group of students from China. The Chinese students were buddied with a North School student and followed their timetable throughout the week. It was an excellent opportunity for our students to learn about different cultures, compare school in the UK and China and make new friends. Thanks to all students who took part and made this another successful buddy programme.

Uniform

08/09/16

Just a reminder that all students are expected to be in full uniform including a blazer. CMDL are expecting a delivery of boys blazers on Tuesday and currently have most girls sizes in stock. Pages have all sizes available in both boys and girls. Thank you for your support with this.

Year 6 Open Evening and Morning Tours

We have pleasure to announce that our Open Evening will be held on Wednesday 5th October 2016 between 5.00pm to 8.00pm for students in Year 6 transferring into secondary education in September 2017.

We look forward to welcoming you to The North School where you may explore our classrooms and view subject displays and students’ work. Families are invited to explore the school at their leisure or alternatively be shown around by one of our enthusiastic Year 7 student guides.

During our Open Evening there will be two presentations by Mrs Hodges, Headteacher, at 5.30 and 6.30pm in the Kent Hall.

In addition to the Open Evening, we also recommend that you come and look around during a normal school day with your child and tours will be held at 9.00am from Monday 10th October 2016 to Tuesday 18th October 2016 (inclusively).

Please contact our Main Reception (01233 614600 or email [email protected]) for further information or if you would like to book onto the Open Evening and/or Tour.

GCSE success

25/08/16

Ashford’s North School has praised the dedication of staff, the support of parents and the determination of its students after achieving its best ever set of GCSE results.

The North has seen what Headteacher Nicki Hodges described as “a huge improvement” in results across the board, with one vital indicator doubling over the past year. She praised the “colossal” efforts of staff and “100 per cent buy in” from the current cohort of GCSE students, who more than doubled last year’s haul of A* to C grades in English and Mathematics by taking it to 54 per cent. She believes one of the success factors is that this was the first group of students to benefit fully from a new approach to learning introduced after the established team at The North started working closely with the Swale Academies Trust. “The Trust was brought in to help the school out of special measures, something that it achieved in record time. The current cohort benefited from a new approach, worked incredibly hard over the two years and took responsibility for working at home as well as at school. There are six periods during the normal school day but we introduced ‘period seven’, optional after-school classes which most of the year elevens attended - and the results speak for themselves. The pupils’ commitment reflects on the staff, as well, of course, as each of the extra sessions meant a teacher staying late. I am proud of the way the whole school has worked so hard to deliver such excellent results.”

The percentage of pupils achieving five A* to C grades including English and Mathematics also improved dramatically, rising to 46 per cent this year and making it far and away the best set of results The North School has seen.

Mrs Hodges said The North offered a range of Level Two Courses, A Levels and vocational subjects, as well as a high retake success rate that could make it a good choice for students looking to get back on track. “The North also offers great careers advice, which combined with good vocational courses and impressive academic teaching, make it a good choice for young people post-16.”

Students celebrate North School success

Sixth formers were smiling today as The North School recorded another year of sound post-16 examination results to build on the Ashford high school’s recent success.

The school prides itself on its high academic standards as well as its broad curriculum, and sixth form pupils have achieved considerable success in recent years.

This year saw notable improvements in the development of vocational qualifications in which the average result is a ‘merit +’ which is equivalent to a high C grade at A Level.

AS results at the North were also up significantly in all grades, with an impressive 15 per cent improvement in A to C grades. A2 also saw an improvement in overall pass rates. with Mathematics and Finance among the subjects where students did particularly well.

Headteacher Nicki Hodges said the results represented “a great deal of hard work and dedication by pupils, parents and our highly committed staff”.

She added: “We have a good reputation at The North for academic success in the sixth form, particularly in Mathematics, English, Law, Film Studies and Engineering, while offering a broad range of Level 3 vocational subjects as well. Notable successes in this area included Applied Science, Sports, Health and Social Care, Business and Public Services.”

A record number of student from the North have received offers of university places based on their sixth form success.

Looking ahead to next Thursday’s GCSE results, Mrs Hodges added: “We also have a very high retake success rate and offer a range of Level 2 courses that can help get students back on track if they want to continue to do A Levels despite missing out next week.

“The North also offers great careers advice, which combines with good vocational courses and impressive academic teaching to make it a good choice for young people post-16.”

Food technology muffin bake winners

01/06/16

Food technology students have been perfecting their muffin baking skills. Year 9 were challenged to develop a unique muffin flavour and their own recipe. They trialed and developed the recipes over 3 weeks, constantly improving and developing the flavour, presentation and quality of bake. The final was judged by a professional chef. The standard of entry was really high with outstanding products from the whole group. The winners Logan, Tia and Danielle (from left to right) were rightly proud of their creations. Well done.

The Carnegie Shadow Reading Group

27/04/16

If you are in Year 7 and interested in reading, you are invited to join Ms Burton’s Group. Supported by Year 12 A Level Literature students, the Group meet in an informal atmosphere to read and discuss books on the short list for the 2016 Award, write reviews, blogs and explore the website.

We enjoy drinks and biscuits but most importantly we love to talk about books that we take pleasure in or inspire us. We are all avid readings and many students are reading their second or third books after a month and relishing the experience.

You can follow us via the website, follow the link and search for The North Shadows in the group section. Please read along with us and let us know your favourite book. The winner will be announced on Monday 20th June 2016.

‘The Beatles Event’ at The Creative Collective, Ashford

27/04/16

The North School was honoured to be invited to exhibit students’ artwork for ‘The Beatles Event’ at The Creative Collective in Park Mall, Ashford during March 2016.

Two walls were dedicated to the School, which included forty three portraits from Year 7 and 8 students. All pieces were judged and First, Second and Third prizes were awarded on the Opening Night by the Mayor of Ashford, Councillor Geraldine Dyer.

The Creative Collective is an exciting initiative for Ashford and The North School are hoping to develop a long-standing and artistic relationship with the Collective. We wish this venture every success for the future and highly recommend a visit.

Parent Governor Election

25/04/16

I am writing to invite you to consider standing for election as a parent governor for this school or to nominate another parent to do so.

As you may know, every Kent school has a governing body that includes a number of categories of governors including parent governors. All schools have between one and seven parents (depending on their type and size) who are elected to serve for a four-year period, though they may resign at any time.

The North School Spring Fair

18/04/16

The annual Spring Fair was once again a huge success and was attended by hundreds of local people. Visitors had the opportunity to look around the farm at the calves, sheep, goats and small animals as well as taking part in games including a coconut shy. There was a BBQ and refreshments too. Money raised from this event will go back into the farm to allow us to continue the great work we do with our animals, students and local community.

END OF TERM – THURSDAY 24TH MARCH 2016

Getting ready for 6th form

25/01/16

Sixth Form interviews are currently underway. All of year 11 will be receiving an interview during term 3 or 4 with either Mrs Matthews, Head of Sixth Form to discuss courses and entry requirements for the Sixth Form or Mrs Lamberton to receive support and guidance on apprenticeships and college programmes.

Farm News

05/01/16

The North School Young FarmersÂ Club exhibited livestock at the Ashford Cattle Show on Monday 30th November.

We took three cattle and six lambs from the farm and came home with our best results to date. The lambs were shown in pairs and we achieved a first place and two second places in classes of up to ten exhibits. We also had some fantastic results in the lamb young handlersÂ classes including a first place, two second places and a third place. Holly Fuller went on to win Champion Young Handler. Well done Holly.

Our students also did extremely well in the cattle classes, gaining a first, second and third prize. Grace Kent exhibited a calf in the Young Handlers class and achieved first place. Grace then went on to win Reserve Champion. Excellent work Grace.

All the students worked really hard and showed really good teamwork whilst at the show. Well done to everyone who contributed to this successful event.

Maths Challenge

05/01/16

On Thursday 5th November a number of our Sixth Form students took part in the UKMT Senior Mathematics Challenge. This is an individual problem solving challenge targeting the top 30% of mathematics students nationwide.Â The top performing student for 2015 was our very own year 12 student Massimo Intini. Our congratulations go to Massimo Â Well Done. Other certificates were earned by our year 13 students Chris McLennen, Matt Cox, Matt Boulding, Jake Allcock and Lewis Bradford.This represents the largest SMC certificate haul ever for The North School!

"The UK Maths Challenge is a great way to challenge your maths skills. I really enjoyed doing it and would love to do it again." -Â Matt Boulding.

"The maths challenge was enjoyable and I would recommend it for any aspiring mathematicians, especially those intending to do A level maths." -Â Matt Cox.

December Newsletter

05/01/16

The December 2015 issue of the school newsletter is now available. In this issue, read about the Ashford Cattle Show, Young Farmers' Club Awards Night, the UKMT Senior Mathematics Challange, and much more! Please click for more.